Making the case for a formal Anthropocene Epoch: an analysis of ongoing critiques

Zalasiewicz, Jan; Waters, Colin N.; Wolfe, Alexander P.; Barnosky, Anthony D.; Cearreta, Alejandro; Edgeworth, Matt; Ellis, Erle C.; Fairchild, Ian J.; Gradstein, Felix M.; Grinevald, Jacques; Haff, P. K.; Head, Martin J.; Sul, Juliana Ivar Do; Jeandel, Catherine; Leinfelder, Reinhold; McNeill, John; Орескес, Наоми; Poirier, Clément; Revkin, Andrew; Richter, Daniel; Steffen, Will; Summerhayes, Colin; Syvitski, James P. M.; Vidas, Davor; Wagreich, Michael; Wing, Scott L.; Williams, Mark

doi:10.1127/nos/2017/0385

Cited by 116 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 83 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Business-as-usual is taking the planet into a 'hothouse Earth' state unprecedented for millions of years in geological history (Winkelmann et al, 2015;Ganopolski et al, 2016), while calls for rapid decarbonisation of the global economic system to meet the Paris climate agreement will also have complex consequences involving an intensified entanglement of social, economic and biophysical processes and their resulting feedback dynamics, up to the planetary scale (Mengel et al, 2018). Despite extensive debate about the Anthropocene (Lewis 15 and Maslin, 2015; Hamilton, 2015;Brondizio et al, 2016;Zalasiewicz et al, 2017), and growing recognition of the limitations of current Earth system models for analysis and policy advice in the context of these shifting dynamics (van Vuuren et al, 2016;Verburg et al, 2016;Donges et al, 2017a, b), little has been done to address the fundamental challenge of systematically reviewing the conceptual foundations of Earth system modelling to include dynamic social processes, rather than externalising them (Bretherton et al, 1986(Bretherton et al, , 1988. 20 To understand planetary-scale social-ecological dynamics, models of the World-Earth system are urgently needed.…”

Section: Revisiting Earth System Analysis For the Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomies for structuring models for World-Earth system analysis of the Anthropocene: subsystems, their interactions and social-ecological feedback loops

Donges¹,

Lucht²,

Heitzig³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.In the Anthropocene, social processes have become critical to understanding planetary-scale Earth system dynamics. The conceptual foundations of Earth system modelling have externalised social processes in ways that now hinder progress in understanding Earth resilience and informing governance of global environmental change. New approaches to global modelling are needed to address these challenges, but the current modelling landscape is highly diverse and heterogeneous, ranging from 5 purely biophysical Earth System Models, to hybrid macro-economic Integrated Assessments Models, to a plethora of models of socio-cultural dynamics. World-Earth models, currently not yet available, will need to integrate all these elements, so future World-Earth modellers require a structured approach to identify, classify, select, and combine model components. Here, we develop taxonomies for ordering the multitude of societal and biophysical subsystems and their interactions. We suggest three taxa for modelled subsystems: (i) biophysical, where dynamics is usually represented by "natural laws" of physics, chemistry or 10 ecology (i.e., the usual components of Earth system models), (ii) socio-cultural, dominated by processes of human behaviour, decision making and collective social dynamics (e.g., politics, institutions, social networks), and (iii) socio-metabolic, dealing with the material interactions of social and biophysical subsystems (e.g., human bodies, natural resource and agriculture). We show how higher-order taxonomies for interactions between two or more subsystems can be derived, highlighting the kinds of social-ecological feedback loops where new modelling efforts need to be directed. As an example, we apply the taxonomy to 15 a stylised World-Earth system model of socially transmitted discount rates in a greenhouse gas emissions game to illustrate the effects of social-ecological feedback loops that are usually not considered in current modelling efforts. The proposed taxonomy can contribute to guiding the design and operational development of more comprehensive World-Earth models for

show abstract

Section: Revisiting Earth System Analysis For the Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomies for structuring models for World-Earth system analysis of the Anthropocene: subsystems, their interactions and social-ecological feedback loops

Donges¹,

Lucht²,

Heitzig³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Neglecting this background does not make sense, as most of this literature, including digital reproductions the original books of Stoppani or Le Conte, among others, are freely available on Internet. By reading these books it is easy to realize the inaccuracy of some statements as, for example, that of Zalasiewicz et al (2017) who contend that the supposed "Anthropocene" precursors ". .…”

Section: The Only Survivormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The AWG was created in 2009 and is formed by 39 members, including several of the more enthusiastic defenders of the "Anthropocene" as a new epoch of the GTS, who have been very active promoting such initiative in the scientific literature (e.g. Steffen et al, 2011;Zalasiewicz et al, 2011aZalasiewicz et al, , b, 2015Zalasiewicz et al, , 2016bZalasiewicz et al, , 2017Waters et al, 2014Waters et al, , 2016 and also in public media. But the "Anthropocene" is still in a very early stage of the ICS protocol for approval and ratification.…”

Section: Modifying the Geological Time Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Edwards, 2015;Finney & Edwards, 2015;Zalasiewicz et al, 2016aZalasiewicz et al, , 2017. Some use the term with quotation marks, as usual for informal geological names, others without them as if the term were already official, and others deny its usage at all (Klein, 2015), which might create confusion among non-specialists and the general public.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

El “antropoceno” al desnudo

Rull

2017

Collect. Bot

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The "AnThropocene" uncovered.-The "Anthropocene", defined as a new geological epoch characterized by the global human footprint on Earth System, has become a term frequently used in a varied range of fields. However, some fundamental misconceptions remain on the origin and the scientific validity of this term. A common misconception is that the "Anthropocene" term and concept originated at the beginning of this century but the truth is that the concept was fully developed more than 140 years ago. Another frequent fallacy is that the "Anthropocene" is already a formal geological term. However, the process of its formalization as a new unit of the Geological Time Scale has not even begun. Another poorly addressed aspect is the significance of future human developments, from both cultural and evolutionary points of view, in the eventual definition of a new geological epoch as the "Anthropocene". This essay discusses these aspects for a non-specialized audience. The potential consequences of the uncontrolled human pressure on Earth System and the need for redressing our relationship with the planet are not under discussion. This essay is concerned only with the initiative of using this argument to propose that we have entered a new epoch of the Geological Time Scale.Key words: Anthropocene; anthropogenic forcing; Anthropozoic; Geological Time Scale; human footprint; stratigraphy.Resumen el "AnTropoceno" Al desnudo.-El "Antropoceno", definido como una nueva época geológica caracterizada por la huella humana global sobre el Sistema Tierra, se ha convertido en un término muy usado en una gran variedad de disciplinas. Sin embargo, todavía hay una serie de ideas equivocadas sobre el origen y la validez científica de este término. Un error muy común es pensar que el término y el concepto de "Antropoceno" se originaron a principios de este siglo, pero la verdad es que este concepto ya estaba plenamente desarrollado hace más de 140 años. Otra equivocación frecuente es considerar que el "Antropoceno" ya es un término geológico formal, cuando la realidad es que el proceso de su formalización como una nueva época de la Escala del Tiempo Geológico ni siquiera ha empezado. Otro aspecto muy poco tratado es la importancia del futuro cultural y evolutivo de nuestra especie en la eventual definición de una nueva época geológica como el "Antropoceno". En este ensayo se discuten estos aspectos para una audiencia no especializada. Las posibles consecuencias de la presión humana incontrolada sobre el Sistema Tierra y la necesidad de reconsiderar nuestra relación con el planeta no se discuten aquí. El ensayo está centrado, únicamente, en la utilización de este argumento para proponer que hemos entrado en una nueva época de la Escala del Tiempo Geológico.Palabras clave: Antropoceno; Antropozoico; Escala del Tiempo Geológico; estratigrafía; forzamiento antrópico; huella humana. Cómo citar este artículo / CitationRull, V. 2017. The "Anthropocene" uncovered. Collectanea Botanica 36: e008. doi: http://dx

show abstract

“…(Waters et al 2016). Critiques relevant to use of the 'Anthropocene' as a geological concept are considered by Zalasiewicz et al (2017). 2.…”

Section: Producing a Better Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

A better Anthropocene?

Lockie

2017

Environmental Sociology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Making the case for a formal Anthropocene Epoch: an analysis of ongoing critiques

Cited by 116 publications

References 83 publications

Taxonomies for structuring models for World-Earth system analysis of the Anthropocene: subsystems, their interactions and social-ecological feedback loops

Taxonomies for structuring models for World-Earth system analysis of the Anthropocene: subsystems, their interactions and social-ecological feedback loops

El “antropoceno” al desnudo

A better Anthropocene?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About